Culture

How South Sudanese singer John Frog moved from child soldier to Afrobeats star

Published

2 months ago

May 19, 2024

John Frog may be one of South Sudan’s most successful musicians at the moment, but a little over 10 years ago, he was a child soldier conscripted to fight in the country’s civil war at the age of eight.

John Frog was born during the civil war and his parents were soldiers in the SPLA – the Sudan People’s Liberation Army but fortune later smiled on him as he realised his true calling of making music.

Today, the youngster has forged an international reputation and has collaborated with artists from other African countries, including Uganda’s Eddie Kenzo, Bahati from Kenya, and recently, Iyanya from Nigeria whom he featured in his latest song, “My Bed”, with the collaborations placing him as one of the most sought after Afrobeats artistes in Africa.

According to a feature story by the BBC Africa, “Frog is his real name. He was called Aguek, which means frog in Dinka, a language native to South Sudan, because he was a breech baby, coming into the world feet-first.”

“Given that his mother gave birth to him in a remote village with no hospital or doctor in sight, he was lucky to survive, as was his mother.”

Speaking on his experience in the army, John Frog said:

“They didn’t give us a gun yet, until I was 14 – that’s when I was given a gun.

“Every day, every week, there is a fight, so we have to run in the forest, in the water, so it was quite tough for me.”

He confessed that he didn’t go to school and only picked up English from the street.

Frog said he always loved music and even in the forest he would listen to traditional music.

He recalled that it was when he got the opportunity to go to South Sudan’s capital, Juba, where he met other young Africans that he started making music himself.

“We didn’t have enough producers in Juba. The producers who are here are from Kenya and Uganda, so it was a bit hard to know the kind of genre for South Sudanese music, so I decided to do Afrobeats.”

Frog noted that South Sudanese musicians who make the most money are the traditional praise singers.

“They praise people, they praise leaders, praise people who have money, so it’s the quickest way to make money here.

“But my aim is to reach the wider audience. Either this year or next year, I have to be among our brothers who are on top,” he vowed.

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Culture

Cook-a-thon: Ghana’s Chef Smith ‘in soup’ for falsifying Guinness World Record

Published

8 hours ago

July 3, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A Ghanaian chef, Ebenezer Smith, a.k.a. Millennium Chef Smith, is in trouble after being caught and held at the La Police Station following his being caught for falsifying a Guinness World Record for marathon cooking.

This occurred when Chef Smith declared, along with a certificate serving as proof, that he was the new cook-a-thon record holder during a press conference on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, at the La Palm Hotel.

He stated that from February 1 to March 6, 2024, he completed 802 hours and 25 minutes, setting a new record.

“I am deeply humbled and honoured to announce that I am now the new world record holder for the cook-a-thon,” he said.

The text on his certificate reads: “The longest cooking marathon (individual) is 802 hours 25 minutes and was achieved by Ebenezer Smith (Ghanaian) in Spintex, Accra, Ghana. From 1 February to 6 March, 2024.”

A high-profile celebration including performers like Praye Tietia, Yaw Tog, Amerado, Kofi Jamar, and the Asakaa Boys marked the end of his cooking marathon.

In an interview with the BBC, Alina Polianskaya, the PR executive for Guinness World Records, refuted Smith’s statements, saying, “No, this is not true at all.” That is not our certificate, and he does not own the GWR title.

“The current and true record for the longest cooking marathon (individual) is 119hr 57 min 16 sec and was achieved by Alan Fisher (Ireland) in Matsue, Shimane, Japan, from 28 September to 3 October 2023,” he added.

He was arrested by the authorities not long after declaring his fake accomplishment and showing his diploma.

With 119 hours and 57 minutes, Irish chef Alan Fisher presently holds the record for the longest continuous cooking session. His accomplishment exceeded that of Chef Hilda Baci of Nigeria who in May 2023 cooked for 100 hours non-stop, breaking India’s Lata Tondon’s 87 hours 45 minutes record of uninterrupted cooking in the process.

Culture

Moroccan court reduces sentence for rappers convicted over controversial song

Published

10 hours ago

July 3, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Two Moroccan rappers known by their stage names “Amine Grave” and “Youss 45”, who were sentenced to two years imprisonment each with a fine of MAD 500 (approximately $50), have had their sentences reduced by the Indictable Misdemeanors Chamber of the Fez Court of Appeal.

The two entertainers were on April 29 found guilty and sentenced by the Indictable Misdemeanors Chamber of the Court of First Instance in Fez following the release of a controversial song titled “Sher Zidi Kobi Atay” which prosecutors say incited minors to engage in prostitution.

Following an appeal by their lawyers on Wednesday, the sentence was reduced from two years to four months, though the court insisted that the song should be removed from YouTube.

The Public Prosecution had charged the two with “inciting minors under 18 to prostitution or debauchery, inciting the commission of a felony or misdemeanor by means of an electronic medium that fulfills the condition of publicity, and participating in such acts”.

The arrest of the rappers had followed complaints filed by a number of civil society activists to the Public Prosecution, demanding the removal of the song from YouTube and social media platforms due to its lyrics that were seen as contributing to “the spread of corruption and prostitution and constituting a violation of moral values”.

At the time, the controversial song had gone viral on YouTube and other social media platforms, making international headlines and prompting human rights activists to call for its removal, accusing the rappers of glorifying the rape of minors.

Many netizens in the North African country described the court’s initial ruling in April as a firm response to the group’s explicit incitement of underage girls to debauchery, however, the new decision by the Fez Court of Appeal to reduce the rappers’ sentences comes after a reconsideration of the charges against them.